Easter bunny is the retailer’s second best customer: transaction figures soaring, with e-commerce gaining momentum

Easter is just around the corner and business is booming. For retailers, webshops and the travel industry, these are the busiest days of the year, just 20% fewer cashless payment transactions than Christmas. Whilst sales of food for Easter lunch are still going strong at traditional stores, supermarkets and of course beloved farmers markets, the trend is all about shopping online when it comes to Easter presents.  Roger Niederer, Chief Market Officer at Worldline, takes a look at Easter traditions from a payment transaction processing perspective:  “On the Saturday before Easter Sunday alone, our main acquiring processing systems[1] show transaction figures of 79,1% of an average Christmas Saturday. This means high footfall in stores and soaring online-traffic.”

Gift giving traditions may vary but consumer behaviour does not: online shopping is king

• Britain is Europe’s number 1 country for online shopping. e-Commerce sales increased by more than 10% thanks to the Easter effect, according to figures published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).[2]
• According to the market research institute Nielsen, Germans spent 447 million Euro on Easter gifts, chocolate eggs and other seasonal Easter items.[3]
• For the Austrian retail sector, Easter is the second most important sales driver after Christmas, with an average spend of 65 Euro per person, according to the Austrian retail association Handelsverband. More than 29% of Austrians do not physically fill their Easter basket and instead choose to buy their Easter gifts easy and conveniently online.

Very few businesses can overlook the Easter season

Not surprisingly, Easter can be even more important than Christmas for some retailers – most notably those operating within the confectionery market.  But that is just the start; a variety of goods are purchased online during this period, including toys, seasonal decorations, clothes, consumer electronics, health and beauty products as well as sporting goods. While the average purchase value may be lower than at Christmas, the range of goods purchased is just as broad and opportunities to increase sales abound. In addition, the travel industry has seen a solid growth in turnover during Easter as people choose to take advantage of the holiday season.[4]

Easter bunny increasingly relies on online shopping

E-commerce turns Easter-commerce from sweets and chocolates to gifts of every description; consumers can order almost anything conveniently from the comfort of their own home.

This is demonstrated by the fact that[5] during the two week period before Easter, online orders in Germany and Austria increased by 14%. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years and is anticipated to rise by around 17%.

Roger Niederer, Chief Market Officer at Worldline: “The proportion of online transactions before Easter is just as high as before Christmas. With the exception of a new phenomenon – at least in the German speaking area:  Black Friday boost online sales – a trend that has only recently hit continental Europe – with overall transactions soaring to 95.9% of an average Christmas Saturday.”[6]

Merchants get ready for online Easter business

In order to benefit from improved Easter sales, merchants have to make their customer’s shopping experience as easy and as smooth as possible. The key to success for retailers is to offer the best mix of payment methods, and seamlessly combine online and offline sales. With the help of a payment service provider, such as Worldline, a fully integrated omnichannel-experience can ensure that retailers remain in tune with the modern and evolving consumer. Even Easter Bunny may have to hop in store to change an item that was ordered online and unfortunately was the wrong colour or size.

Since November 2018, SIX Payment Services has been part of Worldline, making it the largest European technology partner for banks and retailers.